Isle of Palms vacation rentals – Matthew update and more

If you are familiar with our Isle of Palms vacation rentals, you may have been monitoring the news this past weekend and week. Hurricane Matthew has been all over the media, and frankly it’s consumed our lives in a big way.

We here in the Lowcountry breathed a huge sigh of relief and feel very blessed to have made it through Hurricane Matthew relatively unscathed. All evacuation orders in South Carolina have officially been lifted by the governor.

Stores, restaurants and schools are reopening, and things are getting back to normal. As of Monday morning, the Isle of Palms was no longer restricted to property or business owners and is now open to all once again. (As of today, Tuesday, Folly Beach was still restricting access, and much of the city remains without electricity.)

Although the eyewall of the storm moved basically over the Isle of Palms, thankfully the storm was a weak Category 1 when it passed just offshore. Although there was a lot of wind and rain (more than 8 inches at our house), the effects were not too serious. There was street flooding and beach erosion, as is often the case when we get a bad storm on the island, as well as lots of branches and trees down, dune erosion and a few beach walkways that were damaged. But thank goodness there was no storm surge, which was the big problem during Hugo. Most homes on the island never lost electricity. Like I said, we were very blessed.

And one of the fringe benefits of the storm – the beach is absolutely COVERED in the most gorgeous shells and starfish that have washed ashore. Oh – and the weather is beautiful. Carolina blue skies, nice cool breezes, low humidity. It’s as if Matthew scrubbed the atmosphere.

Shells and starfish are plentiful near our Isle of Palms vacation rentals

If you have questions about your Charleston beach house, be it a luxury house on Isle of Palms or a Folly Beach house Charleston, just give us a call and we’ll try to answer any questions you might have.

Of course the storm wreaked havoc with plans, reservations and events.

Update RE: Second Sunday on King Street near our Isle of Palms vacation rentals…

Second Sunday on King Street is one of the most fun and successful recurring events around. This past Sunday (October 9th) was supposed to be the latest installment, but alas it was cancelled due to the weather.

For those who have been to our rental homes South Carolina before, whether you’ve stayed in Isle of Palms vacation rentals or Folly Beach rentals Charleston, you may have been to one of these or at least heard about them. Hopefully you were lucky/smart enough to have your stay on one of our luxury beach house rentals SC coincide with the second Sunday of the month.

One Sunday per month, the city blocks off the main shopping street – lower King – from Calhoun (Marion Square) to Queen Street, removing all vehicular traffic. Pedestrians and dogs and cool & timely special event booths and street musicians and outdoor café dining take the place of cars and trucks.

It’s a great idea that’s gotten more and more popular as it goes on.

King Street has been heralded as one of the best shopping streets in America, and by removing the stress of traffic (and adding in the extras), the experience is truly enhanced. If you’re staying in a luxury house on Isle of Palms or a Folly beach house Charleston SC, a trip to King Street is a must. And on a second Sunday is the best possible way to experience it, so take note when scheduling your stay in one of our Isle of Palms vacation rentals.

Second Sunday on King, near our Isle of Palms vacation rentals

Therefore, the next installment will be Sunday, November 13th, and as always it will be from 1:00 till 5:00 in the afternoon. Here’s the website where you will be able to print out a voucher for free parking in city garages during the event: http://susanlucas.typepad.com/secondsundayonkingstreet/

And then the following month is when Second Sunday on Kingcranks into high gear for the holidays.

If you haven’t booked one of our SC vacation rentals yet, consider one for the holidays. We have great rates on all our Isle of Palms vacation rentals, and Charleston is an idyllic place to spend this very special time of the year.

All best, Lowcountry Lisa your Isle of Palms vacation blogger

NOTE – LATEST UPDATE FROM FOLLY BEACH – The island will be open to all traffic beginning at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. This is from their Facebook page:

Access to a majority of the island will be open to all traffic as of 1pm today. Portions of Ashley Avenue, from 12th East to the Coast Guard Station, will still be closed to the general public due to safety issues. As SCE&G restores power, please be aware of downed power lines. Lines will be live and there is a potential for electrocution if touched, sparks or fires for water flooded receptacles. Please use extreme caution around any downed power lines.

If full power is not restored tonight, there will be a curfew in place from 10pm to 8am. All businesses will have to be closed to the public by 9:30pm to have all traffic off the island by 10pm. We will provide updates depending on power restoration.